Canada Playing for Gold

Photo credit : Darren Calabrese / COC

Coby Iwaasa and Samuel Murray will be playing for gold in men’s doubles at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Team Canada will face the number one seed and defending Pan Am Games champions, Javier Mar and Rodrigo Montoya of Mexico. The match is scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm ET.

Iwaasa and Murray didn’t have an easy path to the finals. In the quarterfinal they upset Daniel De La Rosa and Alejandro Landa, the number three seeded team from the United States in an exciting match. Iwaasa and Murray lost the first two games, 4-11, 8-11, but dug deep to come back and win the last three games 11-8, 11-8, 11-4.

In today’s semifinal, Canada faced Edwin Galicia and Juan Salvatierra of the Independent Athlete Team, who had defeated the number two seeded team from Bolivia to advance. The semifinal went to a tie breaker with Canada winning the roller coaster match, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7.

“Playing in a gold medal match is a once in a lifetime opportunity, especially to do it at the Pan Am Games,” said Coby Iwaasa. “To do it with a partner like Sam give you a lot of confidence. Today’s match was difficult. It was hard to get into a rhythm and feel good, so coming out on top helps us feel confident going into tomorrow.”

The Panam Sports Channel is scheduled to begin their livestream of racquetball on Tuesday, October 24. They will be broadcasting all Tuesday’s finals as well as the Team Events which begin after the finals as well as Wednesday and Thursday.

You can also find live action on CBC Gem and CBCSports.ca, with a focus on Canadian athletes throughout the games. Check in on CBC tomorrow to see if racquetball is being covered!

Coverage on all platforms is free.

Watch for our wrap up release at the end of the Pan American Games for all Team Canada results. And help us cheer on Team Canada in the gold medal match and the Team Events!Dar